Photographs of the author/photographer invite the reader to visit the author at his home and studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There he describes the process of writing and putting together the photographs for a children’s book.

Harvest By: George Ancona Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 2001 Age Level: 9-12 Language: English ISBN: 0-7614-5086-6 BUY THE BOOK Campesinos are migrant farm laborers who come to the Unites States in search of a better life. They come to pick lettuce in California or pears in […]

Charro is the Mexican term for horseman, but for Mexicans a charro is much more than a cowboy. He is a skilled rider of horses, bulls and bucking broncos, true—but he is also an artist with a lariat, a model of gentlemanly dress and behavior, and a living symbol of Mexico’s patriotic past.

After producing the book, Spanish Pioneers of the Southwest, George and Helga Ancona decided to move to New Mexico. After two years they found the land they liked and decided to build a house with traditional adobe walls. The book follows the construction process from blue prints to the finished building.

In Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, little Alicia Histia follows in the footsteps of her parents and pueblo ancestors. Working alongside her mother she is creates pots and clay animals. She joins her grandmother to make bread that she bakes in an outdoor oven. On feast days she dons her traditional dress and dances behind her mother.

For more than one hundred years, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been under construction. Workers from Indiana to New York, from France to Nigeria, have contributed their abilities and labor and time, decade after decade. And although the cathedral is still unfinished, services are held there, festivals are celebrated, and the helpless and homeless are fed, clothed, and befriended within its walls.

Don Ricardo, or Tío Rico as the children call him, is the piñata maker of a village in southern Mexico. Now seventy-seven years old, Tío Rico has been making elaborate and beautiful piñatas for fifteen years. He brings great joy to children with his magical puppets, masks and piñatas–and of course, he gets invited to nearly all the parties.

Take a look at a golden lion tamarin, and imagine its disappearing forever. This is what almost happened in Brazil as deforestation reduced the monkey’s habitat and the species began to die out. Fortunately, the Brazilian government set aside the remaining forest as a wildlife refuge.

On remote public lands of our western states, wild mustangs are flourishing. When their numbers grow too great to be supported by the ecosystem, the herds must be reduced. This is the job of the Bureau of Land Management. Thanks to the BLM’s Adopt-A-Horse Program wild mustangs are no longer killed to make dog food. Now they are rounded up and trained so they can be adopted. Prison inmates at the penitentiary volunteer to work with the horses to gentle them.

John Cronin, an environmentalist, patrols the 315 miles of New York’s Hudson River on board the Riverkeeper, a 25-ft. shallow-drafted boat. Hired by concerned private citizens, John keeps watch for polluters and helps bring citizen lawsuits, lobbies with government officials for better laws and stricter enforcement, and educates the public about the need to protect the environment.